But believe it or not that's not what I'm here to talk about today! I felt like scooting in-front of Chromatian for a sec to talk about a "new" mechanic. Waterskipping! I say "new" in quotations because waterskipping's been done plenty of times and ways in SRB2 and kart in particular, so here's our take on it (because quite honestly the other times like years and years ago were jank as fuck).

ALRIGHT SO... first of all! The reason this mechanic was even re-introduced was thanks to a certain map that got ported in:

NOW... I know what you're thinking, you must be all like "ohhh my god, more Mario". Well, the ENTIRE GAME was cleaned out, there's actually very few ports in it at this point, and they're quite hidden away. Kart also has so many maps at this point that it way way outweighs them, believe me when I say there's more than enough original content to go around this time. The team is incredibly careful and faithful with ports right down to the pixel too, so they feel really fresh and authentic, almost surreal to see in SRB2 when you think about their old D00DKart counterparts from like half a decade ago.

Spoiler:

Not all ports end up playing so well in this engine. This is mostly because our physics engine is so different than the source material, especially this dev build. It's such a momentum based game now, not at all the sticky ghetto-footrace feeling from ages ago. It's basically completely different...if not already pretty obvious from the videos, but you slide quite a bit, your momentum doesn't snap, slopes affect things drastically, and you slow down when drifting tightly. It leads to very dynamic, high committal gameplay that's pretty fun and unique to Kart. It's not what you might be expecting going into it assuming you're a Mario Kart pro (I've heard this a thousand times only for the person who joins Krew saying it to fall on their face at the difference for about a month), but when you drop what you know and get the hang of it, boy is it fun. It's actually quite...Sonic-y??

Anyway, this is important because when porting something in you have to be quite careful, a map like this plays entirely different and even GOOFIER than it's doppelganger. In Super Mario Kart you spend most of the time doing this if you're skilled at the course:

This doesn't work anymore for the reasons above, things like low friction sectors behaving completely different than in 2.1, but mainly because hopping was removed from the game for a CATHOLIC BIBLE amount of reasons. But Vanilla Lake is meant to be skipped and hopped around, and intentionally bumbly and clumsy toward the outer edges when you're moving slow... so now waterskipping is how that trend continues. I mean who on earth wants to challenge this?

Do you KNOW what happens when EVERYONE wants to challenge THIS??

Spoiler:

To perform it is simple. You can only waterskip if your horizontal momentum is overpowering your vertical momentum on a surface of liquid, giving you a solid bounce. This bounce cuts your momentum severely, but at least you're saved. You can only earn 2 bounces per time, the second one has to be under the same conditions as the first too...or you'll be swimming with the fishes.

Spoiler:

It's that simple, and not even that broken. We haven't taken full advantage of it in the maps we have for this release, but it'll probably be used to it's full potential in the future considering its very easy to relegate this to boost items. For now it's a good save for mistakes and cutting tool for time trail pros... considering you can skip checkpoints this time around, jank is reduced and freedom's at an all time high.

Spoiler:

I think that's about it on this one... I'm wordy. Oh and ignore stuff you see like rings. They serve no purpose... they're there because Sal was a little TOO faithful making this one.

Happy Halloween! First of all, here's a spine-tingling new video, on arguably our spookiest Battle map yet: Eerie Grove Zone! We've also decided to write up this little goodie bag of treats to showcase some new items and maps... read this at your DEAD-scretion! [thunder strikes]

[door creaking]

First up, a preview of our new Self-Propelled Bomb item! You might recall back when this was called "blue lightning", and just immediately hit the person in 1st place with an explosion. We thought this behavior was pretty ghastly! We decided to turn it into a projectile that ghosts through the terrain and haunts the person in 1st place. It's now possible to run in fear from, though! A witch might be able to outrun it for an entire race (or cast a spell of thunder), but between the frightening siren it plays once it's locked onto you, the bone-chilling hum while it approaches from behind, and the assortment of slimy bananas littering the road, it's hard to avoid being scared of this item when it shows up!

[blood-curdling scream]

Next up are the Rocket Sneakers, an item that we've brushed the cobwebs off of! We gave this ol' cauldron a spit-shine, polishing up both its mechanics and visuals. It conjures two over-sized rocket sneakers on your sides while you use them, and encourages more careful usage of them. Make no bones about it, it's now a worthy skill-based item for people in the back, being able to let you speed grave-yards ahead of the competition in the right hands!

[jack-o-lantern candle being lit]

This is Midnight Channel, a nightmarish netherworld with dense fog as yellow as banana-flavored taffy (the scariest of all candy)! This map was created by Lat', and is based off of the Persona series. The huge jumps are sure to make you shriek, and watch out for the macabre monsters patroling about!

[ghost groaning]

Last in our devilish little tour is Mementos, an especially spooky Battle map also by Lat'! After a few seconds into the round, the Reaper will appear to chase whoever's winning in this dim, abandoned subway. Try not to get yourself cornered by the Reaper while trying to fight the other players, or else your chances for survival will start to look a bit GRIM!

Be sure to look out for Kart's release soon, OR YOU'LL MEET A GRUESOME FATE!! [wolfs howling, skeleton dancing]